Madonna's Secret (1946) - 5/10. I can't improve upon the Netflix thumbnail, so: "When yet another one of moody French painter James Harlan Corbin's (Francis Lederer) beautiful models turns up dead, the girl's sister poses as a model herself in the hopes of proving that the suspicious artist is a killer. But soon she has a change of heart and falls for the man. Is Corbin toying with her, or could he be innocent after all?" Yeah, I wonder. Problem is, it's all-too-obvious who the real killer is. And Lederer makes an odd leading man: a face like Eduardo Ciannelli's, and a voice like Peter Lorre's. Every girl's dream date! The film was photographed by John Alton, but there's little of his signature style in it. One scene, though, has to be seen to be believed: during the obligatory nightclub scene with the obligatory torch singer, the girl vocalist simultaneously performs as the target for a knife-throwing routine! Each time she finishes a phrase, a knife lands with a thud. Well, it's a Republic picture; but no-one at the studio noticed how nutty that was?

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) - A strong 8/10. Dir. Felix E. FeistSteve Morgan kills a man in a holdup and hitches a ride to Los Angeles with Fergie. At a gas station, they pick up two women. Encountering a roadblock, Morgan takes over and persuades the party to spend the night at an unoccupied beach housA nice little gem, running only 62 minutes. Mostly well written, give a couple of stupid decisions Fergie makes. Acting is professional for the most part but one of the girls delivers some of her lines only tolerably. The climax is a bit disappointing. But the good points: No dragging; a complete story very tightly told. And the characters are interesting.

Alaska Seas (1954) 7/10. Salmon piracy in 20s Alaska. Nice guy Brian Keith hires bad boy Robert Ryan for his Fisherman's Collective, but it isn't long before the cash-strapped Ryan is selling his buddy out to evil canning czar Gene Barry. Ryan is amazing, basically playing the same character he portrayed in Clash By Night, but now with an HE- loaded harpoon gun. Jan Sterling is the girl who can't decide which of the two leads to go for. Is it really a noir? Well, close enough.The Woman on Pier 13/I Married a Communist (1949) 8/10. Just as shipping executive Robert Ryan is about to settle down with new wife Laraine Day, the Commies come calling to remind him that he may have left the Party, but the Party hasn't left him. Thomas Gomez plays Commie boss Vanning like a cross between a mobster and a corrupt politician--he only vaguely registers that Ryan doesn't want to play ball, then goes back to issuing him orders. Eventually, the Commies wear Ryan down, but he ends by redeeming himself, only not before having to pay for his Commie crimes.

The Outfit (1973) 8/10. Robert Duvall gets out of the pen only to find that he's #1 with a bullet on The Outfit's Hit Parade. Seems the bank he went up for was Mob owned, and The Outfit doesn't think his jail sentence was punitive enough. Deciding the best defense is a good offense, Bob recruits Joe Don Baker and Karen Black to help him take on The Organization. So effective is his strategy--robbing each of The Syndicate's high yield operations--that he gets the personal attention of head man Robert Ryan (in his last screen role). In the gun-battle climax Ryan asks, "Can we deal?" and Duvall replies with "Too late!" and some high-caliber punctuation.

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

Human Desire (1954) directed by Fritz Lang with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, and Edgar Buchanan, good noir with some outstanding railroad footage, its not "The Narrow Margin" though, its more a film who's emphasis is about Desire & Desperation than anything else, Gloria Grahame is wonderful as femme fatale slut Vicky who slowly reveals her true character throughout the course of the film. 7/10

« Last Edit: January 04, 2011, 05:49:25 AM by cigar joe »

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"When you feel that rope tighten on your neck you can feel the devil bite your ass"!

Human Desire (1954) directed by Fritz Lang with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, and Edgar Buchanan, good noir with some outstanding railroad footage, its not "The Narrow Margin" though, its more a film who's emphasis is about Desire & Desperation than anything else, Gloria Grahame is wonderful as femme fatale slut Vicky who slowly reveals her true character throughout the course of the film. 7/10

You should check out Jean Renoir's original, it's better.

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That's what you get, Drink, for not appreciating the genius of When You Read This Letter.

Kansas City Confidential (1952) I heard about this movie the first time about 30 years ago when I read Jack Shadoian's book on gangster films. He was rather enthusiastic about it. I am not. This is a rather contrived plotline which steps often into absurdity. The major absurdity is that hardened hoodlums may accept the proposition of doing a heist wirhout knowing each other and, even more absurd, that they (without knowing who the main plotter of the whole coup may be) accept to split the booty at a later time without any assurance that, as it would be only natural, the one keeping the loot may very well vanish into thin air. Then there's the whole middle part in the mexican resort which is just too long and helps not the plot to advance. Still I give it 7\10 because I like Payne and the three western stalwarts (not because they deliver great performances but just because they are given ample screen time).

Been plowing through Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II the last week. So far have viewed Human Desire, Pushover, and tonight "Nightfall"

Nightfall (1957) Directed by Jacques Tourneur from a script by Stirling Silliphant with Aldo Ray, Brian Keith, Anne Bancroft, Jocelyn Brando, James Gregory and Rudy Bond as a pretty good Psycho. Filled with flashbacks. Keith & Bond rob a bank and drive off the road in the high country of Wyoming. Ray & his doctor buddy are on a camping trip and witness the crash.

Their involvement with it triggers the whole tale into which the film drops us blindly without a setup just as it is unwinding in real time so that things are not quite what they seem. An insurance investigator James Gregory following/staking out Ray provides us with clues as he discusses the case with his wife and the flashbacks from Ray's POV to Bancroft and Gregory flesh out story in parcels.

But the real treat in this film is the quite stylistically high contrasting cinematography, especially at the confrontation at the oil well pump, there are some nice location street shots that blend well into the studio city sets, great stuff reminiscent of the graphic novel & film Sin City, though tame in comparison. One also gets the vibe of the Cohen Brothers film "Fargo" in the Wyoming set sections.

Bank robbers Brian Kieth and Rudy Bond steal all the scenes they are in. Anne Bancroft has a nice role as a faux femme fatale, and Aldo Ray is believable in his poor schlub caught in the middle of it role.

So far this is the most entertaining Noir of the set. 8/10

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"When you feel that rope tighten on your neck you can feel the devil bite your ass"!